By Kunle Sanni –
The Federal Government says it terminated the tax credit incentives granted to companies under the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) scheme for road construction due to delays and poor performance.
According to The Nation newspaper, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, disclosed this on Thursday during an inspection of the Benin–Warri dual carriageway bypass in Edo State. He was accompanied by Governor Monday Okpebholo.
Umahi explained that although the contracts were stopped, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed that all road projects under the scheme should continue. He added that funding challenges followed the termination, prompting the Federal Government to seek state support.
“The contract was terminated after months of delay and poor delivery. We appealed to Governor Okpebholo to take over the first 23 kilometres, which he promptly awarded to CBC. The quality of their work is commendable,” the minister said.
He further urged the governor to extend his intervention to an additional nine kilometres, commending his readiness to collaborate with the Federal Government on critical infrastructure.
The NNPCL introduced the scheme in 2021 with N621.24 billion for 21 roads across the six geopolitical zones. The affected projects included the Ilorin–Jebba–Mokwa/Bokani Junction Road in Kwara and Niger states, the Suleja–Minna Road, and emergency repairs on the Mokwa–Makera–Tegina corridor.
In 2023, the company secured approval to invest N1.9 trillion in reconstructing 44 federal roads, among them the East–West Road, the Port Harcourt–Onne Junction upgrade, the Eket bypass, and the Nembe–Brass Road in Bayelsa State.
On the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Umahi announced that Tinubu had approved a 100-kilometre stretch to pass through Edo State, which was not part of the original alignment. Other states on the route include Lagos (100 km), Ogun and Ondo (82 km), Akwa Ibom (65 km), and Cross River (27 km).
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